Avoiding Contamination

To rinse or not to rinse. This is an age-old question. Do I really need to rinse out my recyclable containers? The answer is yes, if not just for the fact that those containers will likely be sitting in your kitchen or entryway for days or weeks until full enough to take to a recycling bin near you. From the viewpoint of a waste hauler, one of the biggest issues recycling companies face is contamination. This includes contamination from non-recyclable items being carelessly tossed in the recycling bin, or from leftover food bits stuck on containers. Every contaminant potentially slows down the recycling process, and can even result in a temporary shutdown of the facility.

Contamination comes from many different sources, and unrinsed containers are just one example. Here are some other contaminants that must never be thrown into the recycling bins:

Plastic bags and plastic film wrap (i.e. Saran wrap and grocery bags) - These items can tangle themselves around the equipment at the facility. If too many bags or plastic wrap go into the facility, the equipment must be shut down until the equipment is untangled.

Wax-lined containers- Many juice containers and frozen food boxes contain a special wax coating. These items are recyclable in many areas, but are not recyclable in our county. Please throw these away or find a way to reuse them in your own home.

Pizza boxes- But wait, you ask, aren’t these made of cardboard? Yes, they are, however they are often too full of grease of cheese to recycle. Grease can cause a lot of problems for recycling equipment and grease is difficult to separate from the paper fibers.

Bulky/rigid Plastics- Plastics that do not have any number 1-7 printed on them, such as siding or children’s toys, are not recyclable. Bring these to a resale store instead of disposing of them. If they are not printed with a number, call your waste hauler to find out how to properly dispose of.

So, the debate about contamination goes beyond the ‘to rinse or not to rinse’ question. If contamination occurs, it can be a costly problem for an industry with only marginal profits. The costs range from increased labor needed to sort out the contaminants and determine their proper location, to a worst-case-scenario temporary shutdown of the facility. If the percentage of contamination levels in a batch of materials are high enough, the whole batch may have to be thrown away. The contamination percentage that determines whether or not the batch needs to be thrown away changes from location to location and depends on the type of contamination.

What can you do to help the contamination problem? The best thing to do is to know your recycling and separate out those non-recyclable materials. Rinsing out your containers is a great start. Beyond that, contact your waste hauler if you are unsure about a particular product. They are the best source to learn which products they accept. Recycling practices can vary significantly between cities, so make sure you are following the proper protocol for the waste hauler in your area. You can also contact the Jackson County Conservation District office to be given a copy of our yearly newsletter! Inside you’ll find information on hard-to-recycle items and best practices for keeping our recycling processes in Jackson County running smoothly.